Break Up With Your Bullsh*t

Suleika Jaouad is an Emmy award winning NYT columnist, TED Speaker, and writer, with her debut book, "Between Two Kingdoms" coming out on February 9th 2021. She is also a former 1:1 coaching client of mine, and it was beyond wonderful to reconnect and throw around ideas about writing and creativity. There are so many gems in this episode, it is not to be missed.

This was a question submitted by a YouTube commented on my last solo podcast, and it's a juicy one to dig into. Are you spending too much time in contemplation as a way to avoid being in action? Perhaps you are the opposite, all action and no introspection. I dive into the nuances of this topic, as well as address a second question about how to turn off your analysis brain when it's literally what you do for a living. MichelleAkin.com for info on the live event!

Mike Mulderrig and I go way back from our formative YouTube days, but he's been up to quite a lot since the last time we saw each other. This episode is filled with stories that caused me to spend most of it in tears from laughing. Mike is a hilarious and brilliant content creator, working across many platforms, and was also a cast member on Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club, which we discuss at length. If you want the dirt, this is your episode. We also delve into creative process, in the section where he interviews me more than that other way around! Find him on Twitter, instagram, tiktok, and YouTube as MikeMGTV. Fair warning, if your significant other is around, you might want to tilt the phone the other way.

It's a question I get a lot, and something I think a lot of creative people struggle with. In this special solo episode, I address this topic head on, and give some actionable steps to take in order to move past it.

J. Aaron Boykin has a speaking and singing voice that your ears will greatly enjoy. He is one of the most genuine and caring human beings I know, and a huge source of inspiration for me personally in my own songwriting journey. His acapella band, Duwendé, is about to drop their newest album that will redefine however you currently think of acapella. In this episode, we both share our music, and get deep into creative process, as well as taking a look at where he gets stuck in putting out his own solo work. We go deep, and you will get a ton from listening to this one.

Laura Belgray is a copy expert, and also one of the funniest humans I know (this is saying a lot). If you've ever yearned to be cynical yet inspiring all at once, Belgray is for you. Her company is called Talking Shrimp, and her newsletter is one of the only ones I read (this is also saying a lot). We covered all kinds of topics surrounding creativity and writing in this one, and as usual, the interview went both ways, given that most of these episodes are really me catching up with old friends. Not that I'm saying Laura is old. Oh god, Laura, are you reading this? *backs slowly out of room*

Erin Gardner is a baker and author of multiple baking books, her most recent of which is called "Procrastibaking: 100 Recipes for Getting Nothing Done in the Most Delicious Way Possible." She also happens to be a childhood family friend of mine, and this podcast is our first conversation as adults. Erin has gotten past quite a lot of BS in order to get where she is today, and this episode will absolutely inspire you to create and to go beyond where you want to stop.

Bernard Velasquez is an extraterrestrial. In this episode, we have our first real chat after being internet friends since the start of quarantine, and it gets DEEP. It's sort of like you are all listening in on our friend friend date, so we are sort of interviewing each other, but we end up sharing some amazing experiences with one another, and there is some divine intervention at work. Bernard's book "Soaring Bird" is available on Blurb. @authenticberns on tiktok, instagram, and twitter.

Visakan Veerasamy (Visa for short) has created an incredible community of friendly, ambitious nerds, who have insightful, kind discourse over the internet. In fact, he's created such a sense of connection and belonging, that his followers gather in person, in his name, to meet one another and make friends, start business ventures, or even find romantic partners. In this episode, he shares with me how he has turned his own fascination with life and how people work, into a thriving hub for his creativity and connection with intelligent life in the most unlikely of places. Follow @visakanv on Twitter.

Stella Santana is a recording artist, but you could simply call her an artist, because she is completely at the helm of her life, designing and creating it the way she wants it to go. We talk about the big issues within the music industry, the trouble with finding the right partners, romantic and musical, and her vision for her next album.